Investments

Carnival Corporation enters into strategic partnerships to add nine cruise ships to its fleet over a four-year period starting in 2019; shipbuilders Fincantieri and Meyer Werft to each build next-generation cruise ships for Carnival Corporation through two separate, long-term partnerships, reports Maritime Link.

A recent piece from the Financial Times points to the fact that despite the remoteness of the Falkland Islands, the fall of international oil prices and the ongoing conflict with Argentina, this has not impeded small oil and gas companies from going ahead with exploration, and hopefully before 2020 production, in the Islands waters.

The United Kingdom is the main import trading partner of the Falkland Islands with 87% of all imported goods coming from the UK in 2012 (Customs and Immigration 2013) with the rest imported mostly from Chile and Uruguay, according to the latest report on the Falklands' State of the Economy.

The Falkland Islands economy has witnessed impressive, although volatile, growth in recent years with unemployment rates low enough to be the envy of most countries in the world and the government is free of debt, according to the latest State of the Economy released by the Falklands Policy Unit.

Brazilian meats giant JBS SA plans to focus on Australia, U.S. pork operations and its processed foods division under a 2015 strategy focused on organic expansion rather than acquisitions, CEO Wesley Batista said on Thursday, and estimated that between 2.5 billion to 3 billion reais (806 million/967 million dollars) in capital investment will be needed this year to support the strategy.

The very first airplane landing on St Helena’s new airport is due to take place in July, seven months before the target date for its completion. St Elena is situated in the middle of the Atlantic, and besides being a volcanic island is world famous since Napoleon was kept under arrest by the British until his death.

Premier Oil spudded its first 2015 Falklands drilling campaign well, 14/15-5, using the Eirik Raude semisubmersible drilling rig on the Zebedee prospect on 6 March. The well, on license PL004b, will test a total of seven stacked fan bodies with varying geological chances of success (GCoS) of 9-52%.

The semi-submersible oil rig oil rig Eirik Raude entered Falkland Islands waters to the north this week and has already been served by supply vessels and undergone a crew change operation. The Eirik Raude will shortly begin a six-well drilling campaign operated by Premier Oil and Noble Energy.

Falkland Islands will this month begin to grapple with the big questions about how oil and gas development will impact on their society and culture. The start of a series of focus groups run as part of the Social Effects Monitoring Programme study, led by Regeneris Consulting, and Falkland Island partners Karen Lee and Carolyn Montgomerie, reports the Penguin News in its latest edition.

Germany wants to speed negotiations for a free trade agreement between the European Union and Mercosur, said Foreign minister Walter Steinmeier in Brasilia. The agreement has been pending since 1999 when discussions started but so far have been unable to reach a deal or commit a date because of internal problems from both sides.